An Antipodean View of the Universe of Sports by Kelvin Chin Fat

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The NRL Rookie

I was really tempted to do a Star Wars crossover and call it the NRL Wookie but Mrs TGOS talked me out of it. She said it was a bit lame. I obviously agreed with her on further reflection. The Force is strong though and some Chewbacca related content may sneak in by the end of this.

Anyways I’m back from my southern sojourn to Melbourne and thought I would jot some scattered thoughts about the recent entry from the NRL into the reality TV arena. BTW I expect the word ‘jot’ will be relegated to the history books now that we hardly ever write anything. I digress. The NRL is a bit late to the show given the reality TV boom started in earnest in the late 90s but better late than never I guess. For instance, the Ultimate Fighter is up to season 24. Here are my quick thoughts on the show:

Pros

It’s a Rugby League show. I’m a Leaguie through and through. Just ask the League of Extraordinary Gentleman.

I liked the Psychologist’s insights. There was about 5 seconds of them but that side of the game has developed late in the NRL and doesn’t get a lot of exposure. It is a different perspective from the normal stuff you see.

I liked that there was a huge smattering of backgrounds. They even found an American willing to come on the show.

I’m glad they got Adrian Lam and Mark Geyer to be coaches on the first season. Gives the show a bit of street cred. Both make me laugh too, which is an added bonus. I don’t mind Freddie and Erin Moylan either.

Cons

Too many players cut after 1 episode. 14 after one show. Just too many.

Ten one week episodes is way too short. It is obviously a ratings/funding decision but a one hour hill run plus highlights of a game and straight into elimination is packing way too much into one show. There were players eliminated that didn’t say a single thing. I’m not an advocate of the opposite either where ‘Days of our Lives’ conversations play out over 232 episodes (AKA The Biggest Loser) but surely there is a happy medium. We need more player content.

I’d definitely like to see more of the player’s stats. For instance, height, weight, 40 yard dash time (or whatever standard we are going to adopt in Australia – yet to see it), vertical leap, whether they are a back or a forward or a utility, preferred position, a record of their junior club and their current club (like they do in State of Origin which is a straight copy from the NFL). It’s not The Amazing Race so ‘Dating Couple’ or ‘Son of Dale Shearer’ is probably not enough detail for me. Just saying.

More footage of the game is needed and some commentary wouldn’t go astray. But please no more Rabs. They should at the very least throw a full version of the game on the internet.

No inspirational theme music. This series is dying for something by Linkin Park or the Foo Fighters.

What is sweeter than Jelly Bread?

GSW. Back from the brink. That was an epic series against OKC. Loved every moment of it. Not looking too troubled by the Cavs so far.

Everyone is focussed on Euro 2016 now but the season proper only finished a few weeks ago and I’m still due to wrap up the season.

As mentioned a thousand times, I went head to head with Lawro all season long (Mark Lawrenson of the BBC). The scoring system was a correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth TEN points and picking an exact score FORTY points.